a season of firsts

so much to get caught up on...

growing up, the christmas season seemed to be the most wonderful time of the year. you just didn't think it could get any better than playing in the snow, decorating the tree, singing carols (the king of glory comes,...), laughing with your family, opening presents. i learned this year that it does get better, way better. i've had many many joyous christmases, but i don't know if any of them can surpass my first christmas as a mother. antonio's first christmas was more fun than i could have ever imagined. the only sad part was that we could only spend it with one half of the family.

antonio spent his first christmas in el paso. his abuelos doted over him quite a bit. and he was just as happy to meet his great aunts and uncles as they were to meet him. he was all smiles and giggles. he even got to meet his great-grandfather with whom he shares a birthday. abuelito roberto is over 90 years old, and while neither one might remember meeting the other, each brought joy to the other. abuelito roberto would reach out to antonio and antonio would grab his hand, and both would smile. truly a special moment that i will never forget and will repeat countless times to my son. andres' family always sings christmas carols on christmas eve and antonio was delighted when we sang his favorite christmas song, the little drummer boy. he loved opening his gifts, and he cried when we would take away the paper. while in el paso we were also able to go to chihuahua, mexico and the canyon del cobre for 4 days. it was quite an adventure, and a separate post altogether. it was beautiful, but definitely a trip for the books.

while antonio spent christmas day in el paso, he got to celebrate the twelfth day of christmas with his other abuelos and aunts and uncles. and his plethora of cousins of course. he and i flew to DC to celebrate his first feast of the epiphany. while we grew up always celebrating three kings day, the way my family celebrates it has changed over the years. nowadays, all the grandchildren spend the night on the 5th of january at abuelo and abuela's house, where they wake up in the morning to open the gifts that the three kings brought overnight. then the parents come over and everyone enjoys brunch together. as my parents' house is not yet ready, thanksgiving and christmas eve were spent at my sisters' houses. but my parents refused to abandon tradition this year when it came to three kings day. so there we were, abuelo and abuela, myself, and 9 grandchildren all spending the night at the "teeny house". what we lacked in space was made up for with laughter, joy, and love.

does it get any better...

antonio and i flew home to DC this past weekend and unfortunately andres could not join us. while we had a great time visiting the abuelos, tíos, and primos, antonio and i really missed his papi. yesterday andres got to pick up antonio on his way home from work and antonio was so happy to be with his papi that andres told me antonio was laughing out loud from his carseat on the way home. it gave me so much joy that antonio was so happy to see his father.

paper or plastic?

we've cheated and let antonio open a few presents a little early this year. it's been so much sitting him down with a present in front of him and watch his little face look up at us saying "now what?". it took a few tries, but he's gotten really good at ripping the paper open. of course, once he rips open the paper it goes straight to his mouth. he actually cries when you take it away from him. i was talking with a woman at the bookstore and she said to me "oh, but don't let him eat the paper because it's toxic". and i thought to myself, these days, i don't know if the toys are any better!

bearing gifts

to keep up with antonio's appetite, i've starting pumping in the mornings. monday morning, i set antonio down on his back in his activity gym, surrounded by his toys. then i get myself set up. it's been a couple minutes and i look over at antonio, who is all of 10 feet away from me. well, much to my surprise i see that my son is quite contentedly chewing away on....the dog bone. i guess cornflower felt like sharing and brought the bone over for him to play with it. and the worst part is, i actually hesitated and pondered whether i should just let him chew on it another minute so i could finish pumping. he looked happy enough and he actually looked kind of cute. but don't worry, i quickly realized that letting your infant son chew a nylabone is not such a great idea.

will he forgive us for this?

Big Smile

This morning when I went in to wish Antonio a good day and say goodbye, he suprised me with a huge smile. I had expected him to be asleep as he normally is. It was like he purposefully had woken up and had been waiting for me to come to his room. It was definitely a good start to the day.
-Andrés

a very merry unbirthday

happy 6 months antonio!!

i can't believe my baby boy is already halfway to his first birthday. the time has flown by. every day he seems to do something new as he grows into his own little person. i miss the days when he was just a few days old, but i look forward to what he'll do tomorrow.